November 30, 2008

Baby in a Basket

There's a song that my kids learned when they were very small, with a line that says, "Moses, baby in a basket." For some reason, that line stuck in their heads and they obsessed over it for YEARS! So much so that one year, Caroline dressed up as the baby in a basket for some church function. She was small enough that we could poke a hole in the middle of a large basket and she stepped inside it, wearing it around her waist. I couldn't help but think of that song after what happened this evening, and now it's stuck in my head again!! AAAAA!

We took a quick walk back to a neighbor's house. Hang on, let me explain that most people don't have driveways or access roads to their homes, so everyone just walks right smack in front of the doors of other neighbors, all through other people's property and very close to their houses, most of the time, but no one seems to mind. On the way back, we passed a young lady swinging a small hammock. Like most people here in the outlying rural areas, she only spoke Guarani, so I couldn't talk much with her. I tried some signals to indicate that I wanted to go see the hammock, and she smiled and motioned me over. When I got there, she was swinging a BABY in the little basket she'd made from a flour sack. Very clever contraption! My pictures are a little blurry because it was dusk, and all I had was my phone on hand. In the first one, though, you'll see a small white "box" hanging mid-air. She was swinging the baby in this box-style hammock and singing a little lullaby, and she was proud that she'd made the fire in just the right spot that the smoke was billowing across the baby. She said that would keep the mosquitos away. The precious little four-month-old grinned at me the whole time we "talked." I'm hoping to visit this mom again soon.

I got back to the house just in time to sit for a second with some friends, and catch a beautiful sunset. My camera phone didn't do it justice, but sunsets here are just spectacular. Maybe soon I can get the real camera out there and share one with you.(Short post--don't click below...)

1 comment:

Precious!!! I hope you get to know her better too! Is mosquito screen/netting hard to come by? Wonder if planting citronella plants would have any effect on mosquitos there, like it's suppose to here. Might have to research that! =)